Double Victory for Enteng Kabisote 3 in MMFF: Top Grosser Na, Best Picture Pa!

Before the festival started, i was expecting that the four movies of Mother Lily will vie for the Top 4 placements in the box-office simply because of its “maka-masa” themes in 4 different flavors, Mano Po 5 (romance), Zsa Zsa Zaturnah (comedy), Shake, Rattle and Roll 8 (horror) and Super Noypi (action-adventure). Among the 4, Super Noypi is my pick for the top spot because first—it’s for General Patronage, anyone can watch it; second—it appeals mostly to the kids which are the major customers of MMFF because kids are pocket-filled with pamasko this season; and third—because of the extensive promotion of Regal Films for their 4 entries specially with Super Noypi. I thought sawa na ang tao sa Enteng Kabisote. I also thought the movie Tatlong Maskara (i’m not even sure if that is the title) will be at the bottom.

From these ‘expectations’ i mentioned above, i was correct with the last statement because it’s a no-brainer. Tatlong Maskara (again, i’m not sure if that is the title) is indeed at the bottom of the box-office. The rest—I’M WRONG.

Enteng Kabisote 3 is reported to be this year’s top-grosser (so far) and it’s Vic Sotto’s 5th movie to top the MMFF box-office for 5 consecutive years since 2002 (Lastikman, Fantastic Man, EK1, EK2 and EK3). And when it rains, it pours. Enteng Kabisote 3 is this year’s winner for BEST PICTURE.

One of Metro Manila Film Festival traditions is the controversy in the awards night and this year is no exception. When Malou Santos, the producer of Star Cinema’s Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo accepted the 2nd Best Picture award for the said film stating in her speech that she believes KKK is THE best picture, i said to myself “here we go again.” I speculated that Cesar Montano’s Ligalig will take the Best Picture plum since Shake, Rattle and Roll was adjudged 3rd Best Picture already and KKK was 2nd. Or Mano Po 5, pwede rin. But when Joey Reyes (presenter) said “Takbo na sa stage Orly, MMFF Best Picture is Enteng Kabisote 3!”, everyone seemed surprised or shocked or whatever. Well they should be, right? Enteng Kabisote for Best Picture? Come on.

Angelica Jones accepted the award in behalf of the producers and casts. Akala ko mag-da-drama uli si Angelica dahil kung nagdrama siya that moment, buong-buo na ang gabi ko.

Later on, Edu Manzano (one of the hosts) clarified that 40% of the criteria in choosing this year’s Best Picture is the box-office performance of the movie that’s why Enteng Kabisote 3 won.

What a stupid new criteria in the 32nd year of the festival and why will they mention it right after they announced the Best Picture award? It’s the same controversy as last year’s when Blue Moon wasn’t declared Best Picture but this time it’s even crazier.

It looks like the MMFF Awards Night is something to look forward to every year because it’s always like a reality show where there are shocking twists and turns. Jsut wait for the controversy to grow, for sure everyone will talk about it tomorrow.

By the way, here is a partial list the awards that i was able to take note as i’m watching another show:

BEST PICTURE – Enteng Kabisote 3
2nd BEST PICTURE – Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo
3rd BEST PICTURE – Shake, Rattle and Roll 8
Best Actress – Judy Ann Santos (Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo)
Best Actor – Cesar Montano (Ligalig)
Best Supporting Actress – Gina Pareno (Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo)
Best Supporting Actor – Johnny Delgado (I’m not sure kung KKK)
Best Director – Jose Javier Reyes (Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo)
Best Theme Song – Hawak Kamay (Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo)
Male Star of the Night – Ryan Agoncillo
Female Star of the Night – Sunshine Cruz-Montano

Update: The “Tatlong Maskara” (or whatever) movie title that i’m unsure of is “Tatlong Baraha”. It won 3 minor awards including Best Visual effects.  

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